The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1887-02-27

peare acknowledged plays Wnerc
his mind seems at dead low tide
throughout, and lays bare all its
shadows and its ooZe. | think it
is sometimes even q defect that he is
apt to be turned out Of his direct
course by the first metaphysical
bubble, il l may venture to call it
so, that pops up in his path" The
lecturer read "Arcite's Invocation to
Mars, aud called attention to the
beautiful pictures which it present.
ed. The second character OF Shake
speare was as a humorist, but the
lecturer dwelt slightly upon this
point. The third character of
Shakespeare was his eloquence,
which was we'll illustrated by
Aptony's Grafton over the body of
Caesar and the dialogue between
Ulysses aud Achilles in Troilus and
Cressida. The three greatest guam
titles Of Shakespeare were subtlety of
poetic inspiration, humor and elo-
Quence. Shakespeare s patriotism was
also commented upon, and the lee
turer called attention to the fact of
his ardent patriotism as shown in
his plays, with possibly the excep-
ton of Richard III. Shakspeare's
treatment of the element of the su-
pernatural was we'll worthy of atten-
ton, because it showed the singularly
philosophical turn of his mind.
In Hamlet the Prince" does not
believe in the existence Of the ghost
for a long time. In Macbeth, in the
scene where "Banquo's" ghost takes
the Thames seat, Macbeth" sees
the apparition, while TO the rest of
the company it is invisible. The
procession of ghosts in Richard III
always struck Mr.. Lowell as rather
ludicrUus, and odd rather than i'm
pressive. The speech of Henry V"
before the walls of Harheur was spe-
cially commended as a specimen of
eloquence. The cause of various
peculiarities in some of the plays as
cribed to Shakespeare was accounted
for on the supposition that Shakes
peare had simply remodeled old plays
instead of producing them from the
raw material himself. In this con-
nection he said:
RICHARD III" AN ADAPTATION.
ut appears to me that an examina-
ton of Richard III plainly indicates
that it is a play whi,h Shakespeare
adapted to the stage, making ad-
ditions, sometimes longer and
sometimes shorter; and toward
the end he either grew weary
of his work or was pressed for time,
and left the older author, who
ever he was, pretty much to himself.
1t would be interesting to follow out
infinitely question Of this kind,
but that would not be possible with
in the limits of an occasion like this
1t will be enough if | have sue
ceeded in interesting you to a GER
tain degree in a kind of discussion
which has at least the merit of with
drawing us for a brief hour from
the more clamorous interests of the
questions of the day to topics which,
if not always so important, have yet a
perennial value of their own. While
l believe firmly in the malnten-
ance of classical learning in our
universities, | never open my Shake
speare that | do not find myself wish
ing that there might be professor
ships established for the expounding
of his works, as there used to be Tor
Dante in Italy. There is nothing in
our literature so stimulating and so
suggestive as the thoughts which he
seems to drop by chance as il his
hands were too full Of them. Moth
ing so CHEEKY as his humor, moth
ing that lands us in elysium so
quickly as the lovely images
which he marries to the
music Of his verse. He is also the
greatest master of rhetoric in teach
ing us what to follow, and also per-
haps in teaching us what to avoid. |
value him above all for this, that for
those who know no language but their
own there is as much TO be got from
the study of Shakspeare's works as
from those of ANY, had almost said
from any of the ancients-I had al
most said from all the aucients put
together" Applause.